History Characters / OnceUponATimeInTheWest

%%* TheDreaded

%%* MoralityPet: For Cheyenne.

%%* LoveableRogue

%%* BewareTheQuietOnes

%%* JerkWithAHeartOfGold

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: [[spoiler:Averted, Stony is the last of the three to be killed. He even manages to shoot Harmonica as he goes.]]

%%* EvilMinions

%%* HiredGuns
%%* {{Jerkass}}es

%%* TerribleTrio

* BeardOfEvil: During his youth, as shown in Harmonica's flashbacks.

* DarkIsEvil: The TropeCodifier for classic westerns, along with [[Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly Angel Eyes]]. Frank always wears a black hat, and sometimes a black coat, something very typical for villains in western movies.

* EvilWearsBlack: Always wearing dark and black clothes, and that is perfectly adjusted to his evilness.

* TheSociopath: He's ruthless, sadistic and manipulative. One of the most perfect examples in a Creator/SergioLeone film.

* DarkIsEvil: The CodifierTrope for classic westerns, along with [[Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly Angel Eyes]]. Frank always wears a black hat, and sometimes a black coat, something very typical for villains in western movies.

* DarkIsEvil: He's always wearing dark and black clothes, and that is perfectly adjusted to his extreme evilness.
* DeadpanSnarker: Emphasis on the "deadpan" part.

* EvilCounterpart: In many ways, Frank is a {{Foil}} or even a ShadowArchetype to some of the most negative aspects of TheManWithNoName, the protagonist of the ''Film/DollarsTrilogy''. Like him, Frank is a cunning {{Chessmaster}} who watches over his interests and {{greed}}, and both are [[ProfessionalKiller professional killers]] who kill for money. The big difference is that while TheManWithNoName has honor codes that somehow make him likable and a [[invoked]] MagnificentBastard, Frank is a {{sadist}}ic, [[HateSink unlikable]] monster who enjoys his cruelty.

* BadassBeard: During his youth, as shown in Harmonica's flashbacks. Also counts as BeardOfEvil.

%%* BadassBeard

* TheExpyWithNoName: He neatly checks most of the boxes here. His real name is never once even mentioned, as his moniker is derived from the musical instrument he often plays when he wants to get someone's attention, is a skilled gunfighter, and his demeanor almost never changes from a hardened look of determination. The only bit of backstory that's ever alluded to, was his brother's murder at the hands of Frank, a sociopathic outlaw whom Harmonica spends the entirety of the film seeking revenge. Fittingly, the film was directed by Sergio Leone, the director of the Dollars trilogy, and was originally set to star Clint Eastwood himself as Harmonica.

->Played by: Jason Robards

* {{Leitmotif}}: A melancholy, string-heavy orchestral piece with choral backing (sopranos courtesy of Edda dell'Orso).

* {{Leitmotif}}: A variation on Harmonica's theme. Usually harsh fuzz guitar, but also played on oboe and trumpet at different points in the film.

* {{Leitmotif}}: A laid-back banjo and whistling theme.

* MortalWoundReveal: [[spoiler:Happens after his ambush of the the rail baron's private train.]]

* {{Leitmotif}}: His ever-present Harmonica, accompanied by electric guitar and orchestra.

* VillainProtagonist: Although Jill is arguably the film's protagonist, a lot of it is told through Frank's P.O.V., and it is ultimately his actions that set off the main storyline.

** [[spoiler:Henry Fonda]], the actor who played Frank, was initially reluctant to take another a role in a Western, having been in so many already and [[TypeCasting always playing one of the good guys]]. That is, until director Creator/SergioLeone told him, "Picture this: the camera shows a gunman from the waist down pulling his gun and shooting a running child. The camera pans up to the gunman's face and... it's [[spoiler:Henry Fonda]]." He signed on in a heartbeat (with some encouragement from a mutual friend).

* EvilCounterpart: For TheManWithNoName, as Sergio Leone himself envisioned.

* WidowedAtTheWedding: Subverted. The story begins during her WeddingDay party with [=McBain=], but it's revealed they already married in New Orleans the month before.

* EvilCounterpart: In many ways, he's a {{Foil}} or even a ShadowArchetype to some of the most negative aspects of TheManWithNoName, the protagonist of the ''Film/DollarsTrilogy''. Like him, Frank is a cunning {{Chessmaster}} who watches over his interests and {{greed}}, and both are [[ProfessionalKiller professional killers]] who kill for money. The big difference is that while TheManWithNoName has honor codes that somehow make him likable and a [[invoked]] MagnificentBastard, Frank is a {{sadist}}ic, [[HateSink unlikable]] monster who enjoys his cruelty.

->Played by: Claudia Cardinale

* DecoyProtagonist: While Harmonica is the first main character introduced and is more akin to Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name, the protagonist in the ''Dollars Trilogy'', he's really not the primary focus of the story. After his introduction, Jill takes the role of the main protagonist and even Frank has more screen time and characterization than Harmonica does.

* EvilOldFolks: Henry Fonda was 63 years old by the time of the film's production and while he's very youthful for his age, he is still noticeably older than the rest of the main cast, even older than Gabriele Ferzetti who plays his employer. This doesn't stop him for being the evilest character in the movie however.

* EvilOldFolks: Henry Fonda was 63 years old by the time of the film's production and while he's very youthful for his age, he is still noticeably older than the rest of the main cast, even older than Gabriele Ferzetti who plays his employer. This doesn't stop him for being the most evil character in the movie however.

* EvilCounterpart: In many ways, he's a {{foil}} or even a ShadowArchetype to some of the most negative aspects of TheManWithNoName, the protagonist of the ''Film/DollarsTrilogy''. Like him, Frank is a cunning {{Chessmaster}} who watches over his interests and {{greed}}, and both are [[ProfessionalKiller professional killers]] who kill for money. The big difference is that while TheManWithNoName has honor codes that somehow make him likable and a MagnificentBastard, Frank is a {{sadist}}ic, [[HateSink unlikable]] monster who enjoys his cruelty.

* NothingPersonal: He tends to view his villainous deeds as a necessary price of business rather than personal grievance or performing them out of cruelty and sadism. Frank notes that he finally figured out that he and Morton were different when he realised that Morton would be content to allow an enemy to live so long as they were defeated and posed no further threat.

* ManInWhite: It's easy to miss, but he dresses almost completely in white. Or in his case, a worn and patched outfit in a range of light beige and sand colors. Which in this world is as white as it gets.

* PsychoticSmirk: Has one in [[spoiler: Harmonica's flashback when watching his brother get hanged]].